


Lack

by darlingdany



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-25 15:10:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14381265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingdany/pseuds/darlingdany
Summary: The aftermath of Crofter's - The MUSICAL!





	1. Pretend

**Author's Note:**

> ships: prinxiety (can be read as platonic or romantic)  
> warnings: angst? self-loathing? lmk if i need to add anything!
> 
> ya girl does not write angst but shes having a lot of feelings about roman's part of the duet, so here you go ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ (i... might write a sequel to this with patton... stay tuned...)
> 
> cross posted to my tumblr, notveryglittery!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil knew self loathing when he saw it.

“Hey, Princey.”

Oh, this was not going to bode well. 

Roman righted his posture and stiffened his shoulders. He slowly closed his laptop, giving the posts on Tumblr one last glance, before setting the computer aside. “Greetings, Virgil!” 

Virgil was having none of it, however, and rose his brows at Roman’s antics. He settled on the arm of the couch and decided to get right to the point, “you feelin’ okay?”

Ah, no beating around the bush, then. Time to ramp it up, Roman, you _are_ an actor, after all. He flashed Virgil a dazzling smile, “I’m not _okay_ , I’m far better than! A partnership with Crofter’s, Virgil! Can you believe it?!” 

Virgil smirked and shook his head; if Roman didn’t know any better, he’d say the motion seemed fond. “Yeah, I was there. Made a joke and everything.” He fished a dollar out of his pocket and waved it in front of Roman, “same one Patton found in his cardigan that you gave him eight years ago.” It was a bit of an inside joke now, the single bill making its rounds to each Side; Virgil needed to find a way to get it to Logan next, if they were going to keep it up. 

“How many jars has Logan had by now?” 

“I think he might be on his fourth,” Virgil answered, not missing the, frankly appalling, lack of Roman’s nicknames in the conversation thus far. “All those private biscuits to attend to,” he snickered, “how many puns _did_ he make, anyway?” 

Roman shrugged, shifting a little uncomfortably in his spot. How many posts was he missing right now? What was Tumblr saying about him after the video? He’d been so _obvious_. “I was actually working on something… could we pick this up later?” Roman was reaching for the Mac when Virgil spoke again. 

“ _I don’t have the vigor to bear the loss of pride that I’m feeling inside_?” 

Roman froze, outstretched hand slowly curling into a fist. He took a deep breath. One last try, idiot, you’re _better than this_. “Another pun! The bear part, did you get it?” The look he gave Virgil was almost desperate, the forced grin aching in more ways than one. 

Virgil hesitated, looking conflicted, before he sighed. “Good one. Dunno how I missed it.” He stood and pulled the sleeves of his hoodie down over his hands. Folding his arms over his chest, he gave Roman one last imploring stare. The fanciful Side did not back down but Virgil knew self loathing when he saw it. 

“Just… if you want to talk,” Virgil offered, willing the awkward tension out of his shoulders, doing his best to convey his sincerity. 

Roman gave him a noncommittal hum, nodding his agreement, already focused back on the screen of his laptop. Whatever he was "working on" clearly wasn't going well, if the crease of his brows and the frown on his lips was anything to go by. Still, Virgil knew when and when not to push, and so he left Roman alone, but not without resolving first to figure out how to help better in the future.


	2. Hide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton spoke so gently, with such reverence, that Roman found it impossible to _not_ believe him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ships: royality! platonic or romantic.  
> warnings: self loathing. 
> 
> here's the patton sequel <3

"Hiya, kiddo!"

It had been three days since the musical release and they were all taking a well deserved break. After two Sanders Sides videos in less than two weeks, the group was officially feeling the exhaustion from so many hours of work. Sales were doing spectacularly and even Virgil was having trouble finding things to be worried about. 

(Mostly because all of his worries were focused on Roman). 

The prince spent his free time either pampering himself (the Fantasy Realm could be whatever he liked; sometimes, it was medieval, sometimes it was a spa retreat) or poring over the internet. It was scary just how _good_ he was at finding the _bad_ posts. Whether it was complaints against his cocky attitude, someone's preference for villains over royalty, the results of the favorite Side polls, or how he was naïve and selfish and vapid—

"Hello? Earth to Ro?"

Roman jolted out of his thoughts, distant gaze snapping to the voice settled beside him. Patton seemed a little concerned and he was opening his mouth to, no doubt, ask if Roman was okay, before the fanciful Side cut him off. "Sorry, Patt! Off daydreaming, as usual. You know." His fake smiles were often hit or miss with Patton, who apparently wore them just as often, and knew one when he saw it. Still, this one seemed to land, and it was almost visible, the tension lifted off of Patton's shoulders. 

"I wanted to show you a few things!" Patton chirped, unlocking his phone (a simple swipe; he trusted the others enough to leave it without a password) and turning the device towards Roman. The colors were pastel pinks and purples but Roman recognized the layout of a Tumblr blog like the back of his hand, and he flinched away from the screen. Patton must not have noticed because he was still looking at Roman with so much patience. Roman focused on the post and… what he saw surprised him. 

It was a post proclaiming “ _Roman is the ONLY **prince** for me!!_ ” and it requested “ _Reblog if Prince Roman Sanders is the only prince for you!!!_ ” It had… it had nearly 1,000 notes. Tears sprung unbidden to his eyes and this time, Patton _definitely_ noticed. Dropping the device, he wasted no time in gathering Roman into his arms and shushing him. “I hope those are happy tears, sweetheart, and that there are more where they came from. I still need to show you two more things.” Roman laughed, somehow, and picked up Patton’s phone, handing it back to him. 

He tried not to think too hard about the post; for all he knew, there were comments about how he was the worst prince out there, how he was too egotistical to even be considered a prince, how— “Ro, look,” Patton interrupted before his thoughts could spiral any further. “ _reblog if you love Roman,”_ it said, “ _trying to prove a point to Roman_.” His heart lurched into his throat and he whimpered. Patton cooed, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “I wish he was real so I could tell him that,” Patton said, as if he’d memorized it, while Roman read. 

Patton leant back a bit, setting his phone down again. He took Roman’s face in his hands, squishing his cheeks a little bit, prompting a snicker out of the prince. “I love you with my whole being,” Patton spoke so gently, with such reverence, that Roman found it impossible to _not_ believe him. “One more thing,” he promised and Roman nodded, too filled with love to form a response. 

This time, it was a blog decorated in reds and peaches, looking a whole lot like his aesthetic. “ _This is my daily Roman Sanders appreciation post_ ” proclaimed the title but before Roman could read any more, Patton was scrolling and— He choked back a sob. It was an entire tag worth of posts, dating back farther than Patton’s phone could keep up. The webpage crashed somewhere around early February and Patton pouted at it before giving Roman his full attention. “That was more than one,” Roman tried to joke but his voice came out all wobbly. 

“I know,” Patton replied, looking smug, before his expression melted into something much more sincere. “We love you. You know that, right?” 

“Of course,” Roman answered in an instant, “of course I know that, sunshine, I just…” He trailed off, hesitating. There wasn’t really any hiding from Patton, though; he represented emotions, after all. “I guess I… forget sometimes.” 

“It happens,” Patton reassured. “If you ever need reminding…” Patton gestured first to himself, then upstairs where Roman could only assume Logan and Virgil were in their rooms, and then to his phone, “you know where to go now, okay?” 

Roman nodded and when he smiled at Patton this time, it didn’t hurt quite as much. “I do. Thank you.”

“I love you, Roman,” Patton enthused, ruffling his hair. 

“I love you too, Patton, but _not the hair_!” He croaked, batting Patton’s hands away, laughing. If the others walked into an “I love you more” competition between the two, they pretended they hadn’t seen, and went about their business, feeling more relief than they had in the last few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr post one](https://vigilantvirgil.tumblr.com/post/173108538846)   
>  [tumblr post two ](http://softestvirgil.tumblr.com/post/173107838502)   
>  [roman sanders daily appreciation posts](https://royallyanxious.tumblr.com/tagged/roman-sanders-daily)


End file.
